Eric Buist (he/him/his) is an associate in the Business Law Group at Cassels and a member of the firm’s Competition & Foreign Investment Group. Eric advises on all aspects of Canadian Competition and foreign investment review law, including mergers and acquisitions, cartels and other criminal matters, private actions (including class actions), advertising and marketing practices, abuse of dominance and other reviewable trade practices.
Prior to joining Cassels, Eric served as counsel to the Commissioner of Competition in the Canadian Department of Justice, supporting Competition Bureau investigations relating to mergers, abuse of dominance, deceptive marketing and other reviewable trade practices. In that capacity, he was lead counsel in numerous complex, contested matters resulting in significant divestitures and other remedies. Prior to his time at the Justice Department, Eric served as a Competition Law Officer in the Competition Bureau’s Cartels and Deceptive Marketing Branch.
His experience includes advising the Commissioner in relation to:
- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s acquisition of Cape D’Or Holdings Limited, Barrington Terminals Limited and other related holding entities, which operate convenience stores and a fuel network in Atlantic Canada under the Esso, Wilsons Gas Stops and Go! Store brands;
- the Bureau’s abuse of dominance investigation into conduct by Google related to its online display advertising business;
- Parkland Corporation and Federated Co-Operatives Limited’s $420 million acquisition of 337 Husky stations from Cenovus Energy;
- the Bureau’s deceptive marketing investigation of Facebook, Inc. related to various representations regarding privacy and the sharing of information on the Facebook platform. The investigation was resolved by way of a registered settlement (consent agreement) which included a $9 million administrative monetary penalty.
- Parkland Corporation’s acquisition of Pétroles Crevier Inc.;
- Neighbourly Pharmacy Operations Inc.’s $435 million acquisition of 10010939 Manitoba Inc., the entity that owns and operates the Rubicon network of pharmacies;
- MacEwan Petroleum Inc. and its affiliate, Grant Castle Corp.’s acquisition of 51 Quickie Convenience Stores;
- the Bureau’s abuse of dominance investigation regarding conduct by WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Swoop Inc. related to alleged predatory pricing;
- WESCO International, Inc.’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Anixter International Inc.;
- American Iron and Metal Inc.’s acquisition of Total Metal Recovery Inc., a notable case where the Bureau considered submissions by merging parties relating to the failing firm defence;
- the merger between Canadian North Inc. and Bradley Air Services Limited (operating as First Air); and
- the Bureau’s abuse of dominance investigation regarding Enercare Inc. related to its return policies and “buyout only, useful life” contracts.
Eric is a co-editor of Cassels on Competition, the firm’s monthly client update on key trends and developments in Canadian competition and foreign investment law.
